Another holiday season means Christmas Day basketball and with it, some of the most intriguing NBA matchups of the year. Though the NFL has slowly continued to encroach on the league’s hold over the holiday, there’s still plenty of hoops to look forward to alongside the day’s usual festivities.
Here’s a look at each of the five games set to tip-off Dec. 25, ranked by entertainment value.
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5. Dallas Mavericks (16–11) vs. Phoenix Suns (14–13), 10:30 p.m. ET
Given the recent playoff history between these teams, it’s surprising to find this game at the bottom of the pile. It certainly doesn’t help that early-season injuries have sidelined backcourt stars Bradley Beal and Kyrie Irving. But the fact of the matter is both teams still have plenty of figuring out to do.
Without Irving, Dallas has fallen into a familiar routine of relying heavily on Luka Dončić, who has rewarded the Mavs by averaging 32.9 points, 9.1 assists and 8.4 rebounds while shooting a career-best (38.4%) from beyond the arc. Nevertheless, Jason Kidd’s group has once again been lackluster on defense and struggled to find reliable ways to fill the scoring hole left by Irving.
For the Suns, questions linger about the depth of the roster past Kevin Durant and Devin Booker. Phoenix at least has the excuse of having a newer roster, however. Coach Frank Vogel has experimented with rotations, but this is a team that’s capable of losing to anyone, even when the two stars combine for 60-plus points (see this week’s loss to the seven-win Trail Blazers).
Going into the holiday weekend, both clubs have lost three of four, meaning that the best gift for either side would be a win on Christmas Day to steady the ship.
4. Denver Nuggets (19–10) vs. Golden State Warriors (13–14), 2:30 p.m. ET
Having Steph Curry take the floor for any high-profile game, even in Year 15, is must-watch television. That being said, it’s been well-documented that this Warriors team is a far cry from the team that won a championship two seasons ago.
Apart from the usual brilliance from Curry, Golden State’s supporting cast has been spotty at best. Draymond Green is out indefinitely due to a league suspension. Andrew Wiggins has been relegated to the bench due to inconsistency. Klay Thompson isn’t the running mate he once was. It all leaves Curry to fend for himself alongside new faces (Chris Paul and Dario Šarić), gifted but inexperienced players (Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody) and rookies (Brandin Podziemski and Trayce Jackson-Davis).
Denver looked steady through the first quarter of the year, but by no means as dominant as past defending champions, even with Nikola Jokić firmly in the MVP conversation. Until we see otherwise—and the Minnesota Timberwolves are trying their best—the Nuggets are the team to beat in the West and rightfully get to host a Christmas Day game as a result.
When it comes down to it, the reigning Finals MVP taking on one of the NBA’s best players of the last decade? Sign us up.
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3. Milwaukee Bucks (21–7) vs. New York Knicks (16–12), 12 p.m. ET
Given the Knicks haven’t exactly lit it up in recent Christmas Day appearances (1–7 dating back to 2012), this game was initially the clear No. 5 in the rankings. Even with Giannis Antetokounmpo coming to town, the pageantry of Christmas in New York and a raucous Madison Square Garden, this matchup didn’t leap off the page on paper.
But that was before the game ball drama that ensued last week.
After Antetokounmpo went to extreme measures to make sure he secured the ball that he scored a franchise-record 64 points with, the Knicks had a bit of fun at the two-time MVP’s expense just a few days later. Julius Randle made sure to mockingly hold the ball teammate Jalen Brunson scored 50 with above any meddling out-stretched arms, taking a subtle shot at the Bucks star in the process.
That sort of potential postgame shenanigans, along with Antetokounmpo or Brunson’s ability to explode for 50-plus, instantly bumps this game up in the entertainment category.
2. Philadelphia 76ers (19–8) vs. Miami Heat (16–12), 8 p.m. ET
Joel Embiid looks both unbothered by the James Harden offseason antics and more dominant than ever. That’s after winning the MVP last season. The Sixers’ center has raised his own bar even higher, increasing his scoring average from 33.1 points per game to 35.1 and dishing out a career-high 5.9 assists per contest.
But if there’s a team other than the Celtics in the Eastern Conference that could slow down a runaway freight train like Embiid, it’s the Heat. That’s in part because of Bam Adebayo, who not only remains the anchor for Miami’s top-10 defense, but is having the best scoring season (22.4 points per game) of his career.
It’s a shame we won’t get to see Jimmy Butler play against his former team in front of Philadelphia’s fan base, but after he took a sideswipe at the organization (and incidentally, Tobias Harris) when sending the Sixers home from the playoffs last year, it’s clear this matchup is still personal.
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1. Los Angeles Lakers (15–14) vs. Boston Celtics (21–6), 5 p.m. ET
The last time these two historic rivals met on Christmas Day was in 2008, in what was a rematch of the previous season’s NBA Finals. Since meeting in the Finals again two years later in ‘10, each franchise has only made the championship series once—the Lakers when they won the title in the bubble in 2020 and the Celtics in ‘22 when they lost to the Warriors.
Nevertheless, the combination of decades of history and LeBron James vs. Boston makes this the must-watch game.
Los Angeles desperately needs to prove there’s no such thing as the post-in-season tournament hangover, having gone 1–5 since taking down the Pacers in the event’s first-ever championship game. On the other hand, the Celtics are third in the league in defense and can be equally lethal on offense when the long ball is falling, making them one of the clear title favorites through the first quarter of the season.
The Lakers can do all of the banner-hanging in the middle of the season they want, but in the new year, they’ll have to show they’re capable of much more to mount a serious playoff push. A good start would be taking down the Celtics on Christmas.
